BREAKING FAKE NEWS!

Breaking News: Employers added 4.8 million jobs in June, and the U.S. unemployment rate was 11.1%, a recovery threatened by the recent spike in virus cases https://t.co/eGOHJdBZR9

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 2, 2020

This, it turns out, is what Trump's "press conference" was about today.  But first, it wasn't a press conference.

The president left his “news conference” without answering a single question. pic.twitter.com/DSKzqCogqf

— jonkarl (@jonkarl) July 2, 2020

Second, the unemployment numbers were not all that good:

The bad news: The number of *permanent job losers* continued to rise, increasing by 588,000 to 2.9 million in June

The number of unemployed persons who were on temporary layoff decreased by 4.8 million in June to 10.6 million, following a decline of 2.7 million in May https://t.co/zG3MtWPruf

— Nick Timiraos (@NickTimiraos) July 2, 2020

And, of course, we anticipate an increase in "temporary layoffs" since so many states are shutting down again, having found disaster when they reopened.  But our President assures us:

"These are not numbers made up by me," says Trump. "These are numbers."

— Timothy Aeppel (@TimAeppel) July 2, 2020

But: A) the numbers are a lagging indicator, and B) what matters to the President, like the electoral college, is where the unemployment numbers are in particular states:

More than 96,000 Texans applied for unemployment benefits last week, a 7.4% bump over the week before.

It is a reversal for Texas, which had seen the number of applications for unemployment benefits fall almost every week over week since mid-Marchhttps://t.co/Ni6ikdaDTe

— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) July 2, 2020

That 11% may not stay that low for long.

This is like the we've got 15 cases and pretty soon it will be going down to zero moment, except for the economy. https://t.co/7F0nvNF2Q9

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) July 2, 2020

And he wasn't done with the coronavirus, either, which he still thinks he can wish away:

Despite record new US case numbers, Trump claims the coronavirus is "getting under control," then goes on a weird rant about how the virus has "got a life, and we're putting out that life, because that's a bad life that we're talking about." pic.twitter.com/gf4VMsxgn3

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 2, 2020

Who knew the White House was an Ivory Tower?  Or a bunker that protects against information?